Almost a year ago, I started visiting doctors in Germany because of my weird illness. I could not eat or drink too much, otherwise I would get too much air in my stomach. I got checked again and again, no one knew what I had.

Two months ago, after five years of waiting, I could finally fly back to China to visit my parents and brothers. It was a long journey and the whole process was so dramatic. We almost missed our connecting flight and when we were finally in Beijing, we were told that our suitcases were still in Frankfurt. What a mess! I should have seen it coming, but no matter, I am finally back in China! I was so happy that I forgot everything that was not so pleasant, including my illness.

The moment that I saw my family, I knew that I had waited too long. Emotions were running high and tears were flowing. Fortunately, it did not take long before we were laughing again. My son was especially excited. He is always a bit shy around strangers, but it took him no time to get to his grandparents, his uncles, and his cousins. His Chinese had improved so much that he even spoke Chinese in his dreams. We had a great holiday with my family. We went to Chengdu, the home of the pandas, to see them. We stayed in Mountain Qingcheng to avoid the terrible heat. To be honest, it was a bit stressful to travel with so many people but at the end of the journey, all I could remember was the laughter we had all the time, the games that we played together, the shows we saw. It was just amazing.

Of course, although we knew what was coming and had prepared for it, we were still shocked by the changes in China. We could pay by mobile everywhere. On the first days I tried to pay with cash, it took people longer than I thought to give me the change, because they had to think about where they put their cash first. We could buy tickets, take the bus or subway, order food and pay with our mobile phone. The other day, we were sitting in a restaurant in Beijing waiting for a waitress to take our order. After a long time of waiting, we were told that we could just order online and then pay online. Fair enough, but I still insisted that she takes our order and later on I did pay with my mobile online. Despite the huge changes, there were still so many things that were familiar to me. People were friendly, shops were always open, delivery was so convenient and taxis were so easy to get. The most important thing is that I enjoyed it all.

To come back to my weird illness: I was so much better in China and now I am back in Germany and it is getting better and better. So please allow me to give you some advice, if you do not feel well, you have tried everything and it still doesn’t get better, then maybe you should just book a trip home. And believe me, you won't regret it!

Photo by Alotrobo